Zap! (M. Clifford/5SOS)

Chapter 7: Out Of My Limit

Monica's P.O.V.

"What was that all about?" Michael asks as soon as I return into the living room. Everyone else is gone and I'm still in shock as to what just happened because words are not processing in my brain right now. Finally, I remember the main reason Ashton pulled me aside.

"Oh, um, he just wanted to give me my ring back," I reply, sitting next to him on the couch.

"And he had to do it in private?" Michael questions. He glances at me with an eyebrow raised.

"Don't ask me why he didn't want all of you to see," I respond, shifting uncomfortably. I don't know why, but I don't want to tell Michael specifically what happened. I know he's my best friend and we tell each other everything, but does he really need to know? It's about a guy and I'm pretty sure he can't give me advice about this. Well, actually he probably can since he is a guy and knows guy stuff, but it's kind of awkward considering it's his bandmate.

"So that was it? He just returned your ring to you?" he inquires.

"What's with all the questions? And yes, that was it," I firmly say, turning my head to look at him. He shrugs and focuses on the TV.

"Okay, sorry," Michael apologizes.

"I'm gonna get something to drink, do you want anything?" I announce, standing up.

"Um, I'm fine for now," he answers, not looking up.

Walking in front of him, I pad into the kitchen and rummage through their fridge to see if anything's good. Usually it's packed with delicious drinks but today they're scarce. I give up trying to find something appetizing to please my thirst and I settle for water, filling a small glass from the sink. As I take a sip, I glimpse out the window at the patio Ashton and I relaxed on a couple of days ago, recalling the enjoyable, yet intense, conversation we shared. An image of his bright, smiling face appears in my mind and lifts up the corners of my mouth to form a slight grin.

"Monica? Are you alright?" Michael calls out from the living room. His voice snaps me back into reality and I have to blink a few times to realize it's the present, not the past.

"Uh, yeah, I'll be right there!" I respond, taking one last look at the patio and heading into the living room. My butt isn't even on the couch yet when suddenly, the front door opens and someone walks through, practically skipping down the hallway. It isn't until they peer around the corner of the hallway and living room that I recognize the girl standing in front of us.

"Tatiana!" I scream, running and giving her a big hug. Michael gets up from the couch and hugs both of us, but I'm able to squeeze out of the group huddle and Michael ends up pulling her into the couch with him.

"Okay, Michael! Okay! Let me go!" Tatiana laughs, tangled in Michael's arms.

"Sorry. I've just missed you," he declares. He unwinds himself from her and I settle on the couch with them.

"I've missed you both, too," Tatiana replies.

"So how was your vacation?" I ask. She's been gone for the past few days on a trip with her family, resulting in her skipping school and unfortunately, the gig. She didn't want to miss the gig, but her family has had this vacation booked for months and there was no way she was getting out of it.

"Pretty good, but I would have rather stayed here, even if it meant going to school," she reveals. "Everything was fine until my brother came down with a fever and it wasn't pretty."

"Oooh, that sucks," Michael delivers.

"Yeah, now I'm hoping I won't get sick. That's also another reason why I'm here right now because I don't want to be around him at home," Tatiana continues. "Anyways, how was the gig?!"